Just when Diantha thought she would end up like the three Elites, fallen, frozen, turned into lifeless stone, she closed her eyes in despair.
The numb stillness lasted only a heartbeat.
An arm suddenly wrapped around her waist, pulling her tightly.
Before she could react, her feet left the ground.
Wind roared past her ears as her body surged upward.
Diantha gasped and snapped her eyes open.
"Sa… Sam?"
Her voice trembled with disbelief.
She realized she was safe, the two of them riding on Reshiram's back as the white dragon cut through the sky.
"Are you hurt?" Sam asked, gaze locked on the battlefield below.
"N-No… I'm fine," Diantha answered quickly, still shaken.
"Good."
"Reshiram, take us down."
"Roooaaar!"
Reshiram's cry rolled across the sky as it dipped its wings and descended in a controlled glide.
Its golden eyes stayed fixed on Yveltal, never letting its guard down.
They landed beside Diantha's original position.
As soon as Diantha's feet touched the ground, her Gardevoir sprinted to her, embracing her with a trembling cry.
Diantha hugged it back, her hands still icy from fear.
Cynthia arrived a moment later atop Garchomp, worry tightening her expression as she reached Sam.
"I'm sorry," Sam said before she could speak.
"Something came up the last two days. I'll explain later. For now, step back. Leave this part to me."
Cynthia held his gaze. She knew this wasn't the moment for questions.
"…Be careful," she said softly.
She guided Diantha away, keeping herself between the Champion and any danger.
Sam exhaled, then unclipped several Poké Balls from his belt.
In flashes of light, the rest of his team appeared around him: Silver, Darkrai, Luca, and Draco.
"You four," Sam said, voice steady, "protect them."
Even his lowest-level teammate, Silver, had reached the peak Champion tier.
Dragonite, at the front with its massive wings half-spread, held the power of a mid-tier third-rank Legendary.
But even so… the presence before them was something else entirely.
"Liii!"
"Luka!"
"Hiii!"
"Graaa!"
His Pokémon each gave a firm cry, then moved to form a living shield around Cynthia and Diantha.
With everyone secured, Sam's attention returned to the looming shadow in the sky.
Yveltal.
Its wings were spread wide, leaking dark, pulsing energy.
The air itself felt heavy, as if every breath was being squeezed out of the world.
Sam activated his Eye of Detection.
[Pokémon: Yveltal]
[Type: Dark / Flying]
[Ability: Dark Aura – Greatly boosts Dark-type moves.]
[Level: 89 (Peak Tier-2 Legendary)]
[Moves: Snarl, Dark Pulse, Air Slash, Phantom Force, Sky Attack, Sucker Punch, Psychic…]
[Signature Move: Oblivion Wing]
[Status: Frenzied – The Pokémon has lost all rational control due to external influence.]
[Note: When its wings and tail glow red, Yveltal absorbs life energy from surrounding beings. It can take life, end life, and spread destruction.]
Sam's expression hardened.
"Frenzied, huh…" he muttered.
"That explains the mess."
Sam couldn't help falling into deep thought.
'This is just like the riot in Viridian Forest… the same corrupted aura, the same loss of control.'
His eyes narrowed.
'Could Team Rocket have infiltrated Kalos, too?'
Before Sam could think further, the frenzied Yveltal let out a murderous shriek.
Its wings spread wide, shadows bleeding off them like smoke.
It could no longer hold back the urge to destroy.
With a single beat of its massive wings, the ground trembled.
Dark energy surged around it as Yveltal prepared its life-stealing signature move, Oblivion Wing.
Sam's gaze sharpened instantly.
"Reshiram," he commanded, voice steady despite the oppressive pressure in the air.
"Overclocking mode. Use Fusion Flare!"
"Rooooaaar!"
Reshiram's tail turbine spun up with a roar like a jet engine igniting.
Blinding heat rippled outward.
Flames spiraled around its body, gathering into a massive sun-bright sphere.
In only a second, a blazing inferno filled the sky.
The divine fire surged forward, just as Yveltal's crimson beam of Oblivion Wing tore through the clouds.
Fire and darkness collided.
The impact blasted apart the air, shaking the ground beneath them.
Flames and shadowy light twisted together, eating away at each other until both attacks vanished in a burst of sparks.
A draw.
Two peak-tier two Legendaries clashing head-on, neither gaining ground.
On the surface, it looked like a stalemate.
But Sam saw the real advantage.
Yveltal's strength was only holding because Oblivion Wing let it absorb life force.
As long as the beam hit something living, its power would keep recovering, almost like a real-world version of a powerful draining move.
But the moment it failed to harness life force?
Its combat power would drop sharply.
And on the other side…
Sam felt the three divine energies inside him, unlocked after the Viridian Forest incident, after tapping into the origin of Mega Evolution, surge in harmony.
They didn't just replenish him; they overflowed. His body was like a living wellspring of power.
If this battle came down to pure energy output…
Sam knew exactly who held the advantage now.
After the first clash, he didn't hesitate.
"Reshiram, again! Fusion Flare!"
Flames surged even before Sam finished speaking, as if Reshiram was reading his intent.
The white dragon roared, the overclocking mode flaring stronger, heat distorting the air around them.
Fire gathered again, bigger, hotter, more violent than before.
The sky lit up in waves of orange and gold, blazing like a second sun forming over Kalos.
Reshiram unleashed the next Fusion Flare.
And the battle resumed, fire raining across the heavens as Sam faced Yveltal head-on.
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